Quick to the Trigger
by Green Phantom Queen
Summary: Power Rangers TF and DT x Kamen Rider DK and Den-O. The opening of an ancient Egypt exhibit and book signing by one Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Oliver somehow got involved in a terrorist attack, people who can't die, serpents, time travelers and a ritual to resurrect evil put to rest long ago. The good guys must save humanity from a future most grim and fix the damage of time itself.
1. Museum Piece

**Quick to the Trigger**

Author: Green Phantom Queen

Rated: T

Summary: Silver City is preparing for a big museum exhibit with artifacts from a man calling himself "Dr .O". At the same time, a book writer named Maya Young finds herself in over her head regarding a cult, a giant bull-shaped train that travels through time, and people who are incapable of dying. One thing's for sure, she's going to need to dig deep in order to have her happy ending.

Note: Spoilers for Power Rangers: Time Force, Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight and Kamen Rider Den-O are abroad.

**1st Trigger: Museum Piece**

"_Quick to the trigger – when someone is quick to respond to anything."_

"_A museum has to renew its collection be alive, but that does not mean we give on important old works."_

_-David Rockefeller_

**April 25th, 2012**

**1:03 AM (Silver City Museum of Natural History)**

Silver City was quiet, just like it was for the past few years. Ever since the mutant attacks and the rise of Ransik and his daughter, Nadira, the city just wasn't the same. Sure, the Silver Guardians were there to keep an eye on any intruders—human or otherwise—that would cause harm to the fair city, but for now, all was quiet.

This bored Wes Collins, though. Instead of fighting someone or getting into something interesting like stopping a bank robbery, he and the other Silver Guardians were disguised as delivery workers in plain beige clothing and caps to ensure that the precious cargo of priceless artifacts, generously donated by someone who only wanted to be called "Dr. O", was successfully donated to the museum. Normally, Wes wouldn't be bothered by this, but upon having a good look at the artifacts, he found something so..._wrong_ about them. He could feel the presence of a dark aura radiating from them. He read about how items were cursed by magicians and shamans to harm those whoever who wronged them...perhaps these items would punish those who would tamper with them.

He shook his head. Curses weren't real. There was perfect explanation as to why someone had bad luck and such. Take for example the curse of King Tutankhamen. What was supposedly some deadly curse placed on the archaeologists who uncovered the young boy's tomb was actually some strain of virus that was unearthed that eventually made everyone sick and die. And the artifacts didn't have anything that screamed deadly virus, so everyone was going to be fine.

Wes carried a crate of ancient pottery into the storage facilities and yawned. He needed some sleep after all of this was over, and maybe a good cup of coffee when he woke up. Whoever this "Dr. O" was had to be someone who had lots of free time on his hand to be sending all of his finds to Silver City of all places. Most cities would kill to have the artifacts for their own, so why did Dr. O request his own father to help pay for the shipping and handling of these treasures to his hometown of all places? Something didn't add up.

As Wes was going to go out back to pick up another crate of artifacts, he thought he heard something rustle. Pulling his flashlight out of his pants pocket, he turned it on and waved it back and forth in the hopes that he would find the source of the noise. There was some silence, and then there was nothing.

"Must've been a figment of my imagination," Wes muttered to himself. He really needed some sleep after all of this was said and done.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**April 25, 2012**

**1:15 AM (Maya Young's Bedroom)**

In the city of Olympia, Maya Young was in her bedroom and typing something on her laptop. After the success of her first book regarding the Kamen Riders and their battles in the Mirror World against the evil general known as Xaviax, there were many requests asking whether or not she would write another story in the near future. Maya was unsure for a while, but after learning about other Kamen Riders who were considered urban legends in Japan, she figured that it would be interesting to see what she could come up with.

So here she was, scrolling through forum posts for inspiration regarding her next book when she should've been fast asleep. Tomorrow, Grace's Books was holding a big event regarding the book signing, and author meet-up, of a book on mythology and the author's research regarding a find of a giant serpent skeleton somehow found in the Sahara Desert. In fact, the skeleton was going to be on exhibit in the Silver City Museum of Natural History, which was a half-hour's drive away from the city, give or take traffic. Once the store was closed for the day, Maya could just go to the museum to get some inspiration and admire the new types of things they were exhibiting.

As Maya scrolled through the forums, she noticed a strange post from someone known as SplitxEnd. The subject line read: "Anything about resurrection"? Curious as to what it may hold, she clicked the link and began to read the message.

**SplitxEnd: **Are there any forces that involve resurrection of bodies and memory loss? A couple of days ago, a boy died to the one-inch punch, but I saw him attending his funeral. My little brother stated that he saw him die, but he can't recall after a specific point. Does anyone have a clue?

Maya rubbed her chin in thought over the request. The only thing that she knew that related to the post was when Eubulon brought back all the Kamen Riders who were vented and erased their memories. However, this didn't correlate to how the boy was attending his own funeral at all. The worst part was that it was hard to figure out how it happened if there weren't any other details. She couldn't give any big suggestions unless they told her more.

So, in order to help a fellow member of the forums, she began to type a reply under her own moniker.

******KRSwan: **That's a very interesting story. Maybe there was a necromancer involved and maybe the memory loss was used by the necromancer to forget that they revived the boy. When a person is revived, nine times out of ten they ___never _return as their original self.

Satisfied with her post, Maya pressed the send button and then logged out. She let out a big yawn as she closed her laptop and placed it on the desk next to her. She looked at the alarm clock by her side and saw that it read 1:21 AM in big red letters. In six hours, she had to wake up so she can prepare Grace's Books and meet up with the paleontologist for the book signing—since it was going to take place early in the morning—before preparing herself for the wave of fans asking for copies of the book and crowding the cash register.

Maya crawled underneath the blankets as her head rested against a large pillow. Then, she was fast asleep.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**April 25****th****, 2012**

**8:15 AM (Taylor Residence)**

An alarm clock blared as Kit Taylor rolled to the side. As much as he wanted to go back to bed, he made a promise to see Maya at the bookstore and help her prepare for that big book signing. Personally, he'd rather be going through the Mirror World and seeing the other worlds that might need his help, but he did promise.

Slamming a hand on the alarm clock to silence it, he yawned and stretched his arms. He then turned to the deck of cards next to the alarm clock all kept in a deck holder stamped with the head of a yellow dragon. Had it really been that long since he took the deck to fight against the forces of evil? It all felt like a dream.

"Kit," said a voice. "Are you up?"

"I am, dad," Kit answered. Even hearing the sound of his own father's voice was a blessing as he had gone missing for most of his life. Sometimes, it was those little things that were the most precious and the ones that he cherished the most. Sure he would always love going into the Mirror World and helping the Ventarian Kamen Riders fight against the forces of evil, but going back to his own room and finding himself back into the arms of friends and family was just as good as punching a bad guy's lights out.

With that thought, Kit jumped out of bed and headed for the closet, preparing some new clothes for the big event. It was going to be nothing more than a couple of friends keeping an eye on a bookstore for a few hours before they head off to the big exhibit in Silver City. There would be nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately, while he was slipping on a new jacket, he did not see a large black blur pass by his window, as if it wanted to warn him for the dangers ahead.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**April 25th, 2012**

**8:30 AM (Grace's Books)**

"Maya!" Lacey exclaimed, seeing the bags in her friend's eyes. "What happened to you?"

"I was up looking at forum posts regarding Kamen Riders," Maya replied with a yawn. She was currently helping her best friend hanging clothes for the bookstore's clothing line that was implemented a while back. She slipped a bunch of decorate bracelets through a clear plastic tube resting on a table and added, "It's been said that for the past forty years, there have been Kamen Riders who have helped stopped the forces of evil from destroying the world."

"Really?" Lacey tilted her head. "Are any of them related to Kit and the others?"

"Not that I know of," Maya shrugged. She then turned to a poster that announced the book signing with a large serpent biting its own tail. It read, "Today only: Come meet with Dr. Thomas Oliver, the author of 'Serpentine Stories: The Myths of the Sacred Serpents' at 11:00 AM", alongside a picture of Dr. Oliver himself.

"You think Dr. Oliver will be able to answer your questions?" Lacey asked. "He is pretty cute."

"He's probably married at this point. To think that he also works as a high school teacher in Reefside." Maya began placing multiple pendants into a jewelery holder shaped like a musical bar with each note representing a hook. "Although, there's something about him that makes me feel...as if he has something to hide."

"He's probably trying to pull off a mysterious factor," Lacey giggled. "I just hope he buys one of those new coats that I recently ordered! Take a look!" She dragged Maya to the large coat rack in the back of the store and pulled off a long black coat with silver decorations. "I'm sure it would work great for whenever he has to go through some secret undercover missions."

"If he doesn't collapse from heatstroke first," Maya replied with a laugh.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**April 25th, 2012**

**8:50 AM (Grace's Books)**

Maya carried three chairs in hand, setting them up for the quiet reading area where Dr. O would have his lectures, trying to make sure she didn't trip and fall flat on her face. She set them down and began to rearrange them so that there would enough room for people to sit in. She wished that there were extra help, but ever since Trent started working with the No-Men, the bookstore was understaffed.

"Mind if I help?" asked a voice.

Maya looked up, seeing Kit extending a hand out to her. She smiled and hugged him, all while laughing like a young school-girl.

"There you are!" she exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"

"Through the looking glass of course," Kit replied, pointing to a mirror at the corner. "How's your research been going?"

"Not so great," Maya shrugged as she walked back to the storage room to pick up more chairs. Kit followed her as she continued. "I just read a strange forum post that asked about whether or not there were forces that could resurrect people and remove their memories." She picked up another group of three chairs into her hand and began to walk back. "I was thinking it had something to do with Eubulon and bringing back the people who were dragged into General Xaviax's twisted plan to get rid of Ventaria, but..."

"It couldn't be true." Kit picked up a foldable table in the back. "Eubulon hasn't stated anything in regards to resurrecting people from being vented. I would know first hand. Where did this take place?"

"I don't know," Maya placed the chairs down and began to set them to their proper positions. "They wouldn't give me any other details. I should probably check on it before Dr. O gets here."

"Speaking of which," Kit looked around. Aside from the two of them, the only other person in the store was Lacey who was preparing a couple of stands promoting some huge discounts. "Where is the good doctor?"

"He said he was going to come a little bit later," Maya answered. "Something about making sure he didn't act like a total fool of himself...or something of the matter."

"I wouldn't blame him on that. Oh, speaking of which," Kit pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Maya. "Price wanted me to give this to you."

"'Maya,'" she began, reading the letter. "'Meet me at the Silver City Museum of Natural History tonight at 6 PM. I have a surprise for you.' Love, Price. Huh, I wonder what he'd wants."

"Who knows?" Kit shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we can think about it later after everyone's left for the day. Come on. Let's open up shop and get ready for a busy day ahead of us."

Maya nodded her head as she went to the front door, flipping the CLOSED sign to OPEN. She then unlocked the door and waited for the customers to come for the big surprise.

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**April 25th, 2012**

**9:03 AM (No-Men Headquarters)**

"Hey, Trent!"

Trent Moseley looked up from his laptop and saw someone toss something his way. He caught it in the air and took a good look at what it was. It was a comic book depicting a group of warriors fighting against what looked like a dark shadow. He looked down and read the person who penned the comic.

"'Trent M?'" he read aloud. "What a coincidence that I share a name with a famous comic book artist!"

"That's what I thought too," said Price, sitting down with a cup of coffee in hand. "And get this: he's coming to Silver City for a meet and greet at the Retrograde Comic Books Emporium today at 2:00. I bet he'll get a kick in finding a fan with the same name he has."

"Yeah. So," Trent Moseley set the comic down and turned toward his partner. "Got any plans for your third anniversary with Maya?"

"I've got it all planned out," Price leaned forward and pulled out an envelope from his coat. "Check it out: front row tickets to Kira Ford's concert."

"No way!" Moseley snatched the envelope and held it into the air, a look of excitement on his face. "How the heck did you get these? Her concert's been sold out for weeks!"

"Let's just say that I have connections," Price replied with a smirk. "And don't forget that we're all heading to that new exhibit in Silver City."

"I know, I know...I wish I could see Trent M. though." Moseley sighed as he placed the envelope next to the comic book. "I wonder what he's doing right about now."

"Probably penning the next adventure of the Serpent Squad," Price mused. "You never know with guys like him."

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**April 25th, 2012**

**9:07 AM (Axion Hotel, 5F)**

Trent Fernandez-Mercer rushed toward the elevator, reading the letter in his hand. Just a few days ago, it appeared out of nowhere telling him that he had to come to Los Angeles on this specific date. He tried to get rid of it, but the letter would always come back to him every single time. Finally, just to make sure that the letter would stop returning to him like a boomerang, he gave in to the letter's instructions and drove to Los Angeles for whatever it was that he needed to do.

"Well," Trent muttered to himself. "Aside from having a meet and greet, I don't see exactly why some mysterious letter has asked me to come here. It's not like I'm being sent to Hogwarts or anything..." He looked at the symbol that was stamped onto the bottom of the letter. It was a strange serpent wrapped around a post along with a cloud of purple smoke escaping its mouth. This only added to the strange feeling he had as to why he was given the letter. Hopefully his dad didn't make any other enemies during his Mesagog days.

There was a 'ding!' as the elevator opened up. Trent lifted his head as he looked back to four pairs of eyes that he thought he'd never see again.

"Conner?" he asked. "Ethan? Kira? Dr. O?" He looked at the four in disbelief, trying to figure out the odds that he'd meet up with some old faces in Olympia. "What are you doing here? No, the better question is why are you _all_ here?"

"Those are very good questions," Ethan began, making room so Trent could enter the elevator. As it closed he added, "It all started with a letter..."

"Like this?" Trent showed the letter with the strange mist emitting snake at the bottom.

"Yep!" said Kira. She looked up and saw the numbers slowly decreasing. "And apparently we all have different appointments today. I have a big concert tonight, Ethan's got a big computer convention going on, Conner has soccer stuff and Dr. O? Well..."

"It's a book signing regarding the stuff I recently uncovered in Egypt," Tommy explained, checking his watch. "And then I'm hurrying to Silver City for the new exhibit."

"Well...what are the odds?" Trent asked, shrugging his shoulders. The elevator doors open as the five walked out to the main lobby. There were guests at the reception area and some sitting on sofas with the newspaper in hand. All in all, it was like any other day. "So...what do we do now?"

"We were all going to go out for breakfast," Conner explained. "Then we're going to see Dr. O's big presentation at this bookstore called Grace's Books before heading our separate ways. Then, once we're done with that, we could all catch Kira's big concert at sundown. Wanna join us?"

"Well, I have nothing better to do," Trent answered. "After all, what's the worse that could happen?"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**April 25th, 2012**

**9:15 AM (Outside Grace's Books)**

As people filed into the bookstore, a figure dressed in a beige coat, black pants and a tattered bucket hat covering his hair entered. He gripped onto the collar of his coat as he stumbled inside, trying his best not to bump into anyone. He took a good look at the picture of Dr. O, a tear falling down his face at what he would do in a few hours.

_I don't want to do this..._He thought. _Please...don't make me..._

_**You will do as I say! **_A voice boomed in the person's mind. **_Or else...your life is in my hands after all...we don't want this little trip to end in disaster, right?_**

The person placed a hand over his chest and felt a sickening pain emerge from where his heart was. He grit his teeth and slowly nodded his head. Then, he began to meander through the numerous bookshelves in order to pass the time, all while begging for someone to save him from committing the most horrible act in his entire life.

_Someone help me..._He silently pleaded, gritting his teeth. _I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to kill him..._

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**What will happen in a short amount of time?**_

_**A doctor in paleontology will soon be laid low by one's blade.**_

_**An author and investigator of the paranormal will find herself in the midst of utter chaos.**_

_**A family will be forced to endure scorching heat and a haunting past.**_

_**A man will face the people he knows from another time and the horror that commenced.**_

_**A boy who can never age will seek any and all ways to end these struggles.**_

**_And warriors who fought against monstrosities will face a challenge beyond their time._**

**_To survive, these people must be quick on the trigger, and they must not stop running from the evils that are coming up on the horizon._**

**_2nd Trigger: "Piece of Me"_**


	2. Piece of Me

**Quick to the Trigger**

**2nd Trigger: Piece of Me**

"_There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle."_

_-Deepak Chopra_

**April 25th, 2012**

**9:45 AM (Grace's Books – Cash Register)**

**SplitxEnd: **There couldn't have been a necromancer when there were only two witnesses with neither of them knowing the dark arts. It's not possible that the dead suddenly got up and walked off without anyone noticing...

"Then they have never seen anyone being pulled out of the Advent Void," Kit noted, pointing to the last five letters in the message.

Maya shushed him as she scrolled down, reading the second message presented to her on her laptop.

**SplitxEnd: **Swan, could you do me a big favor? I have to go to bed soon, but I need anything you know about the Western Zodiac and how it relates to Ophiuchus. I think I have a breakthrough, but I need a bit more evidence before I can press on with my theory. Thanks.

"The Western Zodiac?" asked Maya. "How would that relate to reviving someone? I don't recall any necromancer using the stars as a conduit for their magic."

"That's what we're supposed to find out," Kit answered. "But wait, who's this 'Ophiuchus' that this person's talking about?"

"Well, according to most astrologers, Ophiuchus is said to be the 13th member of the Zodiac, situated between Scorpio and Sagittarius." Maya pulled out a piece of paper and pencil from a drawer and began to draw a circle, dividing it into thirteen sections. "Ophiuchus is known as the 'Serpent-bearer' because there is a constellation known as Ophiuchus who wields a snake, known as 'Serpens', in his hands."

"Okay, I think I'm getting it," said Kit, seeing Maya draw thirteen different symbols in her circle. "But why has he only revealed himself until now? I mean, when I read the newspaper in the morning, I didn't see a horoscope for him."

"There's been lots of debate as to whether or not Ophiuchus is counted as a member of the Zodiac," Maya explained. "You see, the Zodiac is named after the twelve constellations crossing over the ecliptic—the path the sun takes around the Earth. The ecliptic is divided into 12 sections—one for each Zodiac Sign—and it's noted that Ophiuchus also passes through the path." She pointed to the symbol between Scorpio (a capital M with the last curve ending with an arrow) and Sagittarius (an arrow with a horizontal line through it). It was a capital U with a wavy line going through it.

"But that still doesn't answer my question on why Ophiuchus isn't in the daily horoscopes," Kit reminded his friend.

"It's used in other countries like in Japan," Maya replied. "Although how all of this relates to resurrection is beyond me."

"Doesn't he have a back-story?" asked Kit, picking up a copy of Dr. O's book into his hands. "Maybe there's a chapter named in his honor that explains more on the origin."

"Well that can probably...wait," Maya tugged on Kit's arm and pointed to a person wearing a tan trench coat and bucket hat. "Look at him..."

Kit looked up from the book and turned to the strange person walking through the store. The man was shuffling his feet about, looking back and forth as if he was afraid that he would get caught doing something wrong. He gripped onto his chest in pain, but otherwise seemed normal.

"I don't see anything wrong with him," Kit whispered. He turned to see Maya pulling out her cellphone and flicking the screen to enlarge something. "What are you doing?"

She pressed a button and heard a 'click'. The picture developed, showing a strange mark on the person's neck. It looked like the head of a serpent.

"Something's fishy about him," she whispered. "I have this feeling in my stomach that's telling me to look out for that one."

"He's dressed in a strange coat with a hat and has a tattoo of a snake," Kit surmised. "That doesn't mean anything special."

"I doubt it," said Maya, texting on her cellphone. "I'm going to run this by JTC and see what he can uncover for me."

"Are you sure you want to trust JTC with vital information? You know what happened the last time."

"JTC will never remember how he became a sociopath that vented other innocent people that got tangled up in General Xaviax's schemes," said Maya. "He doesn't even remember being complete jerks to us at all. I'd like it to keep it that way."

"Is it because you'll think you're cheating on Price if you start dating his Earth counterpart?" Kit teased.

Maya slightly whacked him with a book in response while muttering, "I'd never do that to him.".

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**April 25th, 2012**

**9:53 AM (Black Hole Café)**

James Tradesmore, otherwise known on the internet as JTC, heard his cellphone vibrate as he was taking a bite out of a crepe. He took the phone into his hands and began to read the new message waiting for him.

"I sent you a picture of a person with the makings of a strange tattoo on him. Think you can analyze it? -Maya"

"Well..." James replied, seeing how his number one fan was asking him for a request. "Let's see what old JTC can uncover."

He opened the file attached to the message, seeing the strange person with the snake head tattoo on his neck. The first thing he needed to figure out was the type of tattoos that could be made with that type of image. The snake was shown to be biting something...itself, perhaps?

James pulled out his laptop from his bag and flipped it open. As he waited for it to load, he took a glance outside his window. In that instance, he saw a large black bull riding on a set of mid-air train tracks, blowing a whistle that sounded like a snorting bull. He quickly pulled out his cellphone to capture this weird encounter, but by the time he had that chance, the train was gone. He was silent for a moment or two, trying to understand what he saw.

"That wasn't real...wasn't it?" he said, trying to process everything. "I mean..." he shook his head. "I've seen and uncovered a lot of crazy things, but flying trains? That's...crazy..."

James chuckled to himself as he went back to his research on the strange snake tattoo. The sooner he got absorbed in his work, the better.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**April 25th, 2012**

**10:57 AM (Grace's Books – Speech Center)**

Hundreds of people were waiting in anticipation for Dr. O's arrival, many of them holding onto either a brochure advertising the event or reading from his book. Kit, Maya and Lacey stood near the stage, anxiously waiting for their guest speaker to arrive from the bookstore's entrance and to be greeted by a round of applause.

"So," said Kit, placing a hand on Maya's shoulder. "Any word from JTC?"

"Not that I know of," Maya replied. "I'm worried about that person online, though.

"Calm down, Maya," Lacey exclaimed. "Stop worrying about your internet buddies and let's focus on Dr. O's grand entrance and the chance to get photos of us with his new book!" She held up a book in her hands, grinning like a loon. "I mean, what are the chances that he decides to use your aunt's store as part of his publicity stunt?"

"Whatever they are," Kit shrugged his shoulders as he looked at his watch. "It'll be worth it in 5...4...3...2..."

There was a round of applause as Dr. O entered the bookstore, followed by four other people dressed in red, blue, yellow and white. The four stood at the back as Dr. O made his way to the stage. Just as he was about to recite his speech, someone grabbed his wrist.

"Who is that?" asked Lacey, seeing the person's strange garbs. "I never seen clothes like that before. Are those

Maya turned to see a teenage boy in a blue and gold silk robe and black pants still grabbing onto Dr. O's wrist. She saw his eyes—they were filled with some sort of...hurt and anger inside them. Then, she noticed the person standing behind the teenager. It was the one with the bucket hat and trenchcoat.

"Kit," she hissed, tugging onto her friend's arm. "Look!"

Kit turned and saw the strange man raising an arm in desperation, but the teenage boy shoved him away as he helped Dr. O up the steps, shaking his hand. He then patted Dr. O on the shoulder twice before sitting down. The stranger grit his teeth and placed a hand over his heart once more, as if trying to combat a severe heart attack. The teenager turned around and said something—or it seemed that way by the way he nodded his head—and the teenager sat down, with his hand clutching his heart.

"I don't like the looks of this," Maya whispered. "Something's wrong."

"Don't tell me we're getting into another supernatural incident..." Lacey moaned. "I'm still reeling from having to leave town after the last one."

The audience didn't notice this at all, as Dr. O went to the podium and cleared his throat. The clapping died down as he began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "My name is Dr. Thomas Oliver and I...I...I..."

Dr. Oliver dropped to his knees, clutching his chest. He tried his hardest to breathe, but instead he sounded like he was choking on something. He grabbed onto the edge of the podium before he collapsed on the stage. Everyone gasped and wondered what was going on, one woman was on the verge of fainting, while Kit pointed to the stranger starting to leave through the commotion.

"Stop right there!" he said. "What's going on?"

The stranger turned around and saw Kit chasing after him. He began to push people out of the way in an attempt to escape. Maya looked around, trying to find something to trip the person up, until she saw the book in Lacey's hands. It would have to do.

"Sorry about this," she said, snatching the book. She bent her arm back and threw the book with all of her might. It hurled into the air, hitting the stranger at the back. His hat flew off as he dropped to his knees, placing a hand where the book hit him. Kit pinned him to the ground and rolled him onto his back.

"What's going on here?" he said. "Why were you...wait a minute..."

Kit took a better look at the person. He had short hair dyed a bright green color, and embedded on his forehead was a crystal. The stranger looked in horror at being pinned to the ground and tried his hardest to squirm his way out. Kit's grip was firm, and he pressed his knee onto the green-haired man's stomach in an attempt to make him confess.

On stage, Conner, Ethan, Kira and Trent were already by their old biology teacher's side, trying to figure out what was going on. Lacey scrambled toward the bookshelves and began calling 9-1-1 to explain the situation as most of the audience started to flee for their lives. Maya saw the strange man in the blue and gold robe standing near his seat and confronted him.

"What did you do to Dr. Oliver?" she asked, grabbing onto his wrist. She looked down, but she found nothing that could've administered the poison from a simple touch. Still, she wasn't going to let something like that stop her from uncovering the truth. "Why did you kill him?"

"I did not kill him, I just temporarily stopped his heart," The teenager replied. "He will be fine once I administer the antidote."

"Then you better give it to him now!" Maya snarled. "Or else."

"Or else what?" The teenager leaned close, his dark blue eyes staring into Maya's brown. "What can you do to stop me? I'd like to see you take your best shot."

"You!" Conner stomped toward the same person, the bracelet on his left wrist glowing. "What do you want with Dr. O?"

"I need things of value," The teenage boy pulled off something dangling from Dr. Oliver's neck. It was an arrowhead inscribed with ancient writing looped through a piece of black thread. "This is one of them."

"An arrowhead?" asked Ethan. "There are plenty of those in the gift shop across the street. Why does it have to be the one from Dr. O?"

"It's because of what it contains," The teenage boy replied, placing the arrowhead around his neck. "I'm sure that its original owner would love to have it back." He took Dr. Oliver into his arms and chuckled. "I have to get going now. I can't keep my audience waiting."

"Can we at least get a name?" asked Kira, bringing her arms up to prepare herself to fight. "I mean, that way we know who's ass we're going to kick for harming our dear teacher."

"Call me Hayato...for now," The teen replied. He raised a hand into the air. "Don't blink."

Just as Conner was about to use his super speed to knock Hayato's lights out, the room was covered in a heavy mist. Maya waved the mist out of the way as she tried to figure out where Hayato disappeared to. It was for a few seconds, but she thought she saw a large mirror materializing from an orb of light. Hayato stepped inside it, the reflection showing an abandoned warehouse marked with the numbers 042212 above the entrance. Then the mirror vanished in a blink of an eye and the mist dissipated.

Kit found himself pinning nothing, and the strange green-haired man disappeared during the commotion. He snarled and slammed a fist onto the ground—how could he not see that coming?

"What was that?" asked Maya, trying to figure out what was going on. It happened so fast that she still had trouble comprehending who was involved in what and why. She needed to sit down...

"That's what we like to know," said Conner, folding his arms across his chest. "What does Hayato want with our old biology teacher?"

"And that arrowhead," said Trent. "It had an interesting design that looked different from most arrowheads you find in museums."

"Wait," said Maya, her eyes wide as an idea sparked in her mind. "Your name is..."

"Trent Mercer."

"Um, right." Maya lightly tapped her head as she began to brainstorm ideas. "Trent, can you recreate the symbols on the arrowhead from memory?"

"I've had to memorize the Periodic Table of Elements in less than three hours once," Trent shrugged his shoulders. "Why do you ask?"

"I have someone who could help figure out what's so symbolic about the arrowhead and why it belongs to Dr. Oliver," Maya answered before approaching Kit. "Kit, I know where Hayato and Dr. Oliver are heading!"

"Good," Kit replied, standing up. "I have some questions I want to ask him."

"You can't go at it alone. Can you contact Len and Kase for backup?"

"Consider it done, your highness." Kit pulled out his cellphone. He began to call a number as he added, "I just hope they're still not on their honeymoon in Ventara."

"Ventara?" Ethan repeated. "What type of strange world is that?"

"Long, long story," Kit sighed, shaking his head. "Wait," he looked around the abandoned bookstore. "Where's Lacey?"

"Over here," Lacey answered, emerging from the bookshelves. "I called for a special police force from Silver City. They'll be here in about twenty minutes."

"And in the meantime," Kira sighed and pulled out her cellphone. "I better call my manager and tell her that I'm not going to be on stage for a while."

"This is so confusing," said Conner, shaking his head. "Can anyone explain what's going on?"

"That's the trouble," Maya answered. "We can't."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**April 25th, 2012**

**11:05 AM (Skies above Los Angeles)**

In the Zeronos Liner, Kotaro Nogami looked down upon the city below. It was bustling with life, in contrast to the hell that would come in a thousand years. He frowned as he recalled the prophecy that would come to pass on this day. It needed to be stopped.

"Kotaro," said a quiet voice, interrupting Kotaro's thoughts. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, grandpa," Kotaro answered, running a hand into his hair. He turned to his grandfather before looking through the window once more. "That Hayato better have been right about this. The city seems too...peaceful."

Ryotaro Nogami nodded his head as he also searched the city. It was difficult in the fact that he wasn't allowed to use the Imagins on this journey, but he faced tougher foes in the past. He could do this.

The train suddenly shook and he fell on his bottom. A bowl of cereal landed on his head and milk fell down his face. Okay, so there was some things that he wasn't able to brush off yet.

"What was that?" asked Kotaro, looking around. "What did we hit?"

"Bad news," said Yuto, entering the cart. He placed a hand on his heart, panting for breath. "Giant serpent coming in at 9:00."

"Giant serpent?" Kotaro repeated. "But there's no way a Serpent followed us all the way here! We made sure of it!"

"Then what's that?!" asked Yuto, pointing outside.

Ryotaro and Kotaro looked outside, seeing a humongous gold serpent with two heads ramming the Zeronos Liner. The train began to shake again as it swerved off course.

"How is that thing alive?!" Kotaro screamed, grabbing onto the table for dear life. "He should be dead for five millennia at his point! He should be nothing but bones!"

"I don't know," said Yuto, grabbing onto the counter. "But we better find a place to land before we join him in the afterlife!"

The Zeronos Liner began to shake, sparks flying everywhere as it blew a low whistle. Seeing its chance, the twin-headed serpent opened its mouth and released a gout of black flames to incinerate the train.

"We have to land now!" Ryotaro screamed. "Hurry!"

The Zeronos Liner took a swerve to the right as it fled toward the battle. The Serpent began to follow its prey, ready to squeeze the life out of the Liner and to fulfill its duties.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**April 25th, 2012**

**11:15 AM (Abandoned Warehouse)**

The first thing Tommy Oliver did when he finally woke up was to check whether or not his arms and legs were free. Sure enough, they weren't. He was tied to a chair, his arms and legs constricted by two large pythons.

"What the?" he exclaimed, struggling to escape his predicament. No matter how many times he was captured, none of the things that bound him were actually living. The pythons, noticing their prey trying to break free, tightened their grip, making Tommy's arms and legs lose blood circulation. When he stopped struggling, that was when the pythons stopped trying to make him lose feeling in his limbs. Tommy snarled, trying to figure out how many times he had been kidnapped prior to this moment.

"You're awake," said a voice. "Good. This makes things much easier."

Tommy turned to see Hayato approach him, fiddling with the arrowhead on his neck. Tommy looked down, noticing that his sacred arrowhead was missing, before glaring back at Hayato. Hayato didn't reply with a smirk or a smile, rather, he just started to speak.

"I suppose you have a lot of questions on your mind," he began. "Do not worry. They will all be answered...eventually."

"Eventually?" said Tommy. "Oh sure, after I somehow got knocked unconscious, kidnapped and being strapped to a chair by giant pythons! What are you playing at?"

"Calm down, Dr. Oliver," Hayato sighed. "Let's start from the beginning. Do you know the powers contained in the arrowhead?"

"Of course I do," Tommy answered. "They helped me bring peace into my mind back when I was the Red Zeo Ranger."

"True, but that was its significance to you. You don't know of its _true_ power—the power that will bring hope to this world."

"If you wanted it so much, _why_ was I dragged into this mess?"

"Simple. To use this, I need its original vessels," Hayato paced back and forth. "You're the second one."

"Second one? Wait..." Dread appeared on Tommy's face as he started to understand what Hayato was saying. "You don't mean..."

A second figure emerged from the darkness, his eyes glowing a shade of dark blue. Tommy felt his throat dry up as he stared into a face that he thought he'd never see again.

"No," He gasped, shaking his head in disbelief. "You...you can't be..." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "You can't be my brother! David Trueheart..."

"Died?" Hayato finished, tilting his head. He raised a hand in the air, signaling the second man to stop walking. "Yes, he did die. I resurrected him—somewhat. Don't look at me at that, Tommy. I'm doing you a favor. I'm sure you'll be glad that your brother's back from the dead. It wasn't easy, let me tell you that.

"And with that taken care of," Hayato went into a lotus position, levitating off the ground. "I think it's time we have a little chat as to what's going on. Don't you agree?"

Tommy looked back and forth from the strange boy to the being that was his own brother. This was all nothing but a dream...he was dreaming...that was all.

Unfortunately, he was having a hard time convincing himself that.

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**The dead have been brought back to life when it was not possible.**_

_**The appearance of strange people who must kill others has brought in new questions**_

_**And at the same time, they have also presented new problems.**_

_**3rd Trigger: "Me and a Gun"**_


	3. Me and a Gun

**Quick to the Trigger**

**3****rd**** Trigger: Me and a Gun**

"_I don't care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting."_

_-Che Guevara_

**April 25****th****, 2012**

**11:20 AM (Grace's Books – Speech Center)**

"_In the darkness is the light. Surrender, we'll win the fight. This girl's walked through fire and ice, but I come out on the other side of paradise!"_

Kira's singing helped pass the time as everyone waited for the police force from Silver City to arrive. However, there were still as restless as ever. Kit was leaning against the wall, trying to contact Len and Kase on what was going on, Trent was doodling in his sketchbook, Ethan was playing some sort of online MMORPG on his laptop, Conner was pacing back and forth, looking like he was about to strike at the next stranger that entered the bookstore, Lacey was trying to keep her mind off of the situation by checking whether anything was stolen in her part of the store, and Maya was listening to Kira's song in delight.

"Where did you learn that song?" she asked the singer. "It's so...melancholic and inspiring."

"It's a cover from a solo artist named Molly Phillips," Kira answered, momentarily stopping her guitar playing to speak. "I went to one of her concerts when I was a little girl, and I also learned about her daughter, Fiona. She ran a rather interesting website about her experiences with the otherworldly."

"'So Weird?'" Maya looked in awe. "I heard of it! It was one of the first websites that let people share their experiences with the supernatural. I always wanted to express my interest with it, but Fiona stopped posting stuff online after a while. Poor girl…"

"Poor us," said Conner, momentarily stopping his pacing to speak. "No fanatic of the supernatural is going to be able to get us any closer to finding Dr. O's whereabouts. We don't even know why he was kidnapped!"

"Why don't we ask Haley for help?" asked Trent, looking up from his drawings. "Maybe she can pinpoint his whereabouts through her computers."

"But she still won't give us anything regarding the guy with green hair or the boy who jumps through mirrors," Ethan noted.

"Well, there has to be some sort of clue as to what we're dealing with!" said Maya. She picked up one of the fallen copies of Tommy's book and skimmed through it. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"Excuse me," said a voice. "Did someone call for us?"

The group turned to see two figures approaching them, dressed in navy police gear and red berets. One of them pulled out a police badge to reinforce their stance as a police force.

"I'm Eric Myers," he said. "I'm captain of the Silver Guardians. The guy to my left is my partner, Wes Collins." Wes just waved hello while the others waved back. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, how do we explain this?" Maya began. "A book signing involving one Dr. Thomas Oliver ended up with Dr. Oliver having a heart attack, a strange boy with silk clothing creating a huge cloud of mist while he teleported with his unconscious body and then some guy with green hair and a crystal on his forehead tried to get to Dr. Oliver and..."

"Wait, wait, wait," Wes interrupted, bringing a hand into the air. "Did you say that the person had 'green hair and a crystal on his forehead?'"

"Yeah, that's what Kit saw when he pinned the guy to the ground after I threw a book at him," Maya answered, nodding her head. "...Do you know him?"

"His name is Trip, a humanoid looking alien from Xybria in the year 3000," Wes explained. "He was part of Time Force; its green ranger in fact. He was also our partner when he and the other Time Force Rangers fought off a mutant attack in Silver City long ago...Yes, I do know him."

"Oh yeah!" said Ethan, standing up. "You two were in Dr. O's video files. Great to see another set of Power Rangers here...even if it's under very weird circumstances."

"But that still doesn't make any sense," said Eric, shaking his head. "Something's not adding up here."

"What do you mean?" asked Trent. "Didn't it just look like he was going to visit his good friends from the past?"

"If he was, then he'd probably like to explain that strange snake tattoo on the back of his neck," said Maya. "Did he have that when he was in Silver City long ago?"

"He definitely wasn't one for tattoos," Wes noted. "I think the green hair and crystal was already more than enough to scream 'I'm not normal.' In fact, I was the one who gave him his old hat in the first place, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Why was Trip here?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," said Maya. "He was looking around in horror, as if he was so paranoid for someone out to kill him. Wait a minute..."

"Hayato," Kit mumbled. "Maybe Trip was trying to prevent Dr. Oliver's death by that Hayato jerk!"

"Hayato?" Eric repeated. "Sounds like some sort of strange sword name."

"Strange name or not, he's our only clue to this mystery," said Maya. "I'd contact JTC if I could, but I don't think even he would have any insight as to who he was."

Suddenly, the sound of a loud, snorting bull caught everyone's attention. Everyone poked their heads out as a large portal appeared in the sky. A humongous train in the shape of a black bull emerged, travelling toward the entrance of Grace's Books in a set of train tracks assembling on its own. It slowed down and with a hiss, the door opened. No one spoke as a strange figure in a black hooded cloak and gold mask emerged, with a basket of lollipops in its hands.

"Is this your back up?" asked Lacey, pointing to the stranger waving at them.

"Not that we know of," Eric answered.

"Hello!" said the stranger, bowing toward them. "My name is Deneb, and I'm here to bring good cheer for you today. Here!" he handed a lollipop to Kira and bowed to her. "For you, miss."

"Um, thank you," Kira replied, taking the lollipop in to her hands. "They look…very good."

"I know," Deneb replied. "I made them myself! It's always nice to share things with your friends. Don't you agree? In fact, I'm sure Yuto would—"

"DENEB!"

Someone tackled Deneb onto the ground and proceeded to give him a chokehold with Deneb's hand slapping against the ground as if he was tapping out of a submission hold.

"Y…Yuto!" Deneb sputtered. "Please…get off of me!"

"We are not here to make friends!" Yuto exclaimed. "We need to stop Hayato from going insane!"

"Wait, you know Hayato?" asked Conner, stomping toward Yuto and grabbing him by his collar. "What's going on? Where's Dr. O?"

"Dr. O?" Yuto repeated. "Well, if I'm not mistaken at this time, he _should_ have been dead and news reporters should've been announcing his death, but Hayato altered the timeline so…"

"Stop right there," said Ethan. "What do you mean by 'should have been dead?' That doesn't make any sense."

"Excuse me for a moment," Everyone turned to the entrance of the strange bull locomotive, seeing some sort of dark blue horned demon dressed in black armor with silver rivets. He bowed politely at them.

"Greetngs," he began. "I am the Imagin known as Neotaros, but I guess you may call me 'Teddy' for short. Please forgive our friends for being so…exuberant. We have much to discuss…"

"And about five seconds before I punch someone's face in!" Conner snarled, cracking his knuckles.

"Just a moment," Deneb muttered, slowly standing up. "We truly must hurry if we are going to make it. We have traveled for so long and have done our best that we do not cause more trauma to the timeline."

"Wait, you can travel through time?" asked Wes. "So do you know anything about Trip and why he's here in the present?"

"We are also on the search for why an interloper from a millennium into the future would also come here," Teddy explained. "But with Hayato's plans in order to make sure _she_ can be revived, we have to make sure Hayato didn't leave anything else that could creep up unexpectedly."

"But what does he want with Dr. O?" asked Kira. "That's what you haven't told us."

"We have to get going!" said a fourth voice, this one belonging to a teen with short blond hair, black leather jacket and a pair of ripped black pants. "Everyone, get in now!"

A loud roar caught everyone's attention. Yuto shook his head as he saw a streak of gold in the sky.

"Oh crap," he muttered, nearly grabbing his hair in frustration. "We need to go."

"What is going on?!" Maya and Kit exclaimed.

"Hell," Yuto whispered. "We're all about to enter into the bowels of Hell."

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**April 25, 2012**

**11:27 AM (Abandoned Warehouse)**

Tommy Oliver faced so much throughout his life when he became a Power Ranger. Ranging from being brainwashed for no other reason than to have him be a pawn to the bad guys, fighting giant monsters on a regular basis, seeing his friends leave for important business regarding said monster attacks, nearly having himself die countless times…the list went on and on. Seeing his own brother in front of him, where he should've been dead for the past six years, made him speechless.

"I suppose you have many questions as to why he's alive, do you not?" asked Hayato, cracking an eye open from his meditation. "Like I said, the ritual to revive him wasn't easy, so you should be lucky that you can actually see him face to face rather than seeing a psychic for that matter."

"What would you be gaining by doing this?" Tommy snarled, forcing himself to gaze at the necromancer. "Why my brother? And why me?"

"Your arrowheads are critical for what is to come," Hayato answered, descending to the ground, his feet not even making a sound when he landed. "They were not just made out of a stone, but rather from the fang of an ancient Serpent who offered protection against all evil."

"Well, I wish I had _that_ during my stint as a high school super-hero."

"You do not understand the big picture," Hayato sighed and shook his head. "Then let me use something that you should understand. Trueheart, I would like your arrowhead."

"Don't you dare—" Tommy snarled, jumping toward Hayato. Unfortunately, the pythons sensed the hostility and tightened their grip again. Still, Tommy wouldn't give in as he wrested against the large snakes. He watched as he saw his brother remove the arrowhead around his neck, handing into Hayato's empty palm. Hayato took both arrowheads halves and placed them together, the markings that were etched on them glowing.

"Yes," he said, lifting the completed arrowhead pendant into the air. "This is the key. She shall save us from his wrath. Don't you agree, Master Vasuki?"

Tommy heard laughter echo in the empty warehouse as a large serpent grew from Hayato's back, covered in white scales. Its stern blue eyes stared into Tommy's own; deciding on what would be the right way to address him.

"V…Vasuki?" Tommy choked out. "But, you're not real…you're just…"

_A myth?_ Vasuki finished, smirking when he saw the paleontologist's eyes widen in horror. _No, I am as real as you and your brother. Isn't there an old idiom that states 'Seeing is Believing', Shun?_

"It's 'Hayato', Master," Hayato insisted. "I gave up that name after the third millennium or so under your care."

"W…wait," Tommy felt like he was going to faint right there. "How old are you?"

"If you mean 'How long I have walked this Earth', then I have been doing so for the past 1.5 millennia," Hayato answered. "But if you're asking how long I was alive _prior_ to my resurrection, I was only nineteen-years-old. In fact, I shall be dead in around…three or four days' time, depending on the time zone since I used to live in Japan and—"

"You're not making any sense," Tommy grit his teeth. "What is going on?!"

"I suppose we must give ourselves introductions," Hayato sighed. "Long, long ago, I was given the name of Shun Daimonji, but an incident occurred where my best friend was killed by the one-inch punch."

"Are you sure you're not confusing this with a Bruce Lee movie?"

"SILENCE!" Hayato roared. "Even to this day, I still recall Gentaro's death. How he smiled while accepting Ryusei's wish for him to die and how the world went to Hell because of that! And now…"

_You are letting your emotions override your common sense,_ Vasuki hissed. _Control yourself, Serpent-bearer._

"You are right, as always," Hayato replied, nodding his head. He cleared his throat and lowered the collar of his cloak, revealing a large jagged scar around his neck. "I shall be obtaining this wound in a few days' time, with my throat slit by the same man who caused this madness, all to save my beloved Miu from trouble. And do you know what's happened to her now?" Tears fell down Hayato's face. "There is nothing but a kilogram of ashes in an urn, somewhere in a destroyed cemetery that I can never come back to! She's dead!"

"Well technically she's still alive at this time…" Tommy began, but then silenced himself as he saw Hayato's eyes glowing with rage. "But that's getting off topic. So, how were you…revived?"

_I stepped in to bring his soul back to the living world,_ Vasuki answered, leaning in close to the fallen paleontologist. _His payment to me was to bring about the end of the world under Lord Shiva's instructions. Unfortunately, it seems as if the world is nearing its end sooner than expected._

"Gentaro, my former friend, was resurrected by a dark Serpent known as Ophiuchus," Hayato continued. "And somehow he has awoken after the climactic battle that should've made him pass onto the afterlife. Somewhere along the line, someone summoned him. Whether it was by accident or it was intentional, that is what we're going to find out."

"And let me ask you again, where do I fit into this?" asked Tommy.

"You were the first casualty of the entire thing," Hayato answered. "You were supposed to die by another interloper from the time stream, but I, along with that girl with the book, stopped your early death."

"Oh, I'm so flattered…" Tommy replied with a roll of his eyes.

_You should,_ Vasuki chuckled, interested with the human's sense of humor. _"You would've been the main general of the Armed Forces of Ouroboros."_

**0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**April 25, 2012**

**11:31 AM (Zeronos Liner)**

The Zeronos Liner left the front of Grace's Books and began to travel through a strange dimension of sand. The sky was decorated with an Aurora Borealis that seemed to stretch on forever. However, there was no time to take photos at the beauty; there was things that needed to be explained.

"This way," said Deneb, beckoning the new passengers onto the dining cart of the Zeronos Liner. "Please sit down."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Lacey. "I mean…what if news reporters come in, or maybe robbers? What about—"

"They're gonna be small potatoes compared to that giant twin-headed son of a bitch," Yuto interrupted. He waited until everyone sat down before speaking again, "Now, I suppose you all want introductions. Well,"

"Yuto!" cried a meek voice. A man in his mid-20's rushed toward him. "They did it, they WAH!"

The man tripped on his own shoelaces and landed face first in front of Maya, Dr. Oliver's book in his hand. He had shaggy black hair and was dressed in an orange long-sleeve shirt and a red knitted scarf around his neck.

"Ryotaro," Yuto sighed, helping his friend up. "What did you find?"

"Um, weren't introductions the first thing on our list?" asked Ethan.

"S…sorry," said Ryotaro, bowing toward the passengers. "Um, my name is Ryotaro Nogami, and I think you met my friend Yuto Sakurai,"

"Yo," said Yuto, raising a hand in the air.

"And my grandson," Ryotaro pointed to the teenage boy with blond hair. "Kotaro Nogami."

"G…grandson?" Kit repeated, looking at both Ryotaro and Kotaro. "How is that possible?"

"The train that we're on can travel through time," said Kotaro, hands clasped and his chin resting above them. I came here from around 60 years in the future in order to help stop a disaster from happening in about 1000 years."

"Which is where Trip is from," said Eric, nodding his head. "But why was Trip there?"

"He was sent to assassinate one Dr. Thomas 'Tommy' Oliver," said Teddy, reading through his notes. "However, we intervened with our friend Hayato…"

"Your FRIEND?!" Trent interrupted. "Your friend just kidnapped our teacher and you think that it's better than assassination?"

"Hayato just gave him a small amount of poison that temporarily stops the heart," Kotaro elaborated. "At least it wasn't as bad as that necromancy scheme he did in front of us,"

"It was necessary, wasn't it?" asked Deneb.

"But it wasn't necessary to show us what he had to do!" Yuto exclaimed. "Ugh, I was close to swearing to eat nothing but shitake mushrooms for the rest of my life…"

"Um," said Ryotaro, raising a hand. "What I found actually is related to that necromancy scheme. Look!"

He showed the book to a specifically marked page—a golden bracelet of a twin-headed snake engraved with hieroglyphics. Underneath the photo were a few sentences describing the item.

"Found within the deserts of the Sahara, this bracelet was likely decorated in honor of the Serpent god Nehebkhau. Its twin heads represented how he represented the _Ka_ and _Ba_ of a human's soul."

"So?" asked Kira, tilting her head. "It's just a piece of jewelry."

"It's not just a piece of jewelry," said Wes. "That's one of the artifacts in that new exhibit! But, I don't remember seeing those hieroglyphics before."

"That's because they weren't there to begin with," said Ryotaro. "Also, there's a special message written there."

"What kind of message?" asked Maya.

"It says 'Trueheart',"

"So?" asked Conner. "The Ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the most important part of the human body that contained their soul or personality. Now if it was the _brain_, then—"

"Wait!" said Maya, flipping out her own copy of the book. There's an epitaph right before the prologue. She stopped at a page and pointed to the words. "It says, 'In memory of my brother, David Trueheart.'"

"Dr. Oliver had a brother?" asked Ethan.

"Guess there's still stuff that we don't know about him," Kira shrugged.

"It's a sign of good news," said Ryotaro. "It means our partners were able to successfully able to go back to the past and tell us that everything went smoothly."

"Wait, there are time-travelers in Ancient Egypt right while we're speaking?" Eric inquired. "That can't be right! How are they able to do that?"

"That's part of a longer story that we can't get into right at this point," Teddy answered, setting his notepad onto the table. "Right now, we need to get you all up to speed to what is going on."

"But what about Dr. Oliver?" asked Kit. "And what about that green-haired guy? He's probably going to get more reinforcements since his assassination attempt failed."

"And if Trip was sent to kill then that means…" Wes shook his head in disbelief as everything started to come together. "Jen…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_**In the deserts of Ancient Egypt, three people have come to make sure things come to light**_

_**They appear as gods, but are truly immortals**_

_**And this makes their mission somewhat harder.**_

_**4th Trigger: "A Gun & a Ring"**_


End file.
